


The Rose Nebula

by Billsanddavid



Category: Doctor Who
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-13
Updated: 2014-03-13
Packaged: 2018-01-15 13:13:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 800
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1306078
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Billsanddavid/pseuds/Billsanddavid
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Anonymous asked you:<br/>Ten x rose fic idea: Donna comforting the doctor as he is sad over rose, and I dunno rose isn’t really in it but I just thought it would be super cute.<br/>(For the purpose of this fic I am writing as if Donna doesn’t know what happened to Rose).</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Rose Nebula

'Doctor.' Donna screamed down the halls of the TARDIS. 'She's doing that thing where she moves the rooms again. I've been searching for the console room for an hour!'. 

Donna huffed and headed in the direction that the TARDIS had lit for her. There had to be a reason that one end of the hallway had lights and the other didn’t, or she hoped that her reasoning was right anyway. 

Donna reached the end of the hallway and found one door. One she’d not seen before. It was wooden, like the kind you’d find in a flat or a house. Nothing fancy, just a plain old wooden door. 

Great, she muttered to herself. Another dead end. She had been living on the TARDIS long enough to know that when she moved the rooms around it was usually for a reason. Unfortunately, today Donna couldn’t figure out what the reason was. 

May as well, she thought holding a closed fist up to the door and knocking gently. Nothing. 

Hello, she said quietly. Questioningly. She tapped at the door again and this time it slowly swung open. Donna slowly tilted her head to look around the door. It was a bedroom but not one she’d seen before. There was a large bed covered in a hot pink quilt to the right of the room, large cupboards and dressers that housed various items of clothing, make up and jewellery and by far the most impressive part of this new room was the ceiling. It didn’t look like the ceiling of any other room in the TARDIS. It looked like someone had brought the stars inside. It was moving, swirling pink and purple. Unlike anything Donna had ever seen or could ever have imagined. And it was beautiful. 

'It's called the Rose Nebula,’ he said twisting his upper body around to face her from his position on the floor near the foot of the bed. Donna jumped, she hadn’t seen him sitting there. 

'Spaceman, what are you doing here?' Donna asked, she could see the pain written across his face. Not the pain he usually carried for the loss of his planet, his people or the countless others he had lost along the way. But the pain for the loss of his love. 

'Ah you know, just visiting,' he smiled. A smile that didn't quite reach his eyes and she knew then that it was a front. He was still mourning her, even after all this time. 

'Tell me about her,' Donna said sitting down beside him. She rested her back against the frame of the bed and looked up to the Nebula above. 

The Doctor handed Donna a photo, it was of him and Rose on Christmas day. The Christmas he became the new, new Doctor. 

'She is brilliant. She always says the right things. She's loyal and funny. She trusts me even though I know she shouldn't. She's so clever, even though she never believes it. Absolutely jeopardy friendly. And, she's saved me more times than I can count', he spoke of her as if she was still here. As if she was off fetching them tea before they'd race to the library to watch another low budget 51st century movie. 

Donna wasn’t sure what to say so she just asked another question. ‘So’d you make that for her then?.’

'Hmm?' the Doctor saw Donna gesture toward the ceiling. 'Oh that. No. That's real. We visited not long before… well, we visited and then I had the TARDIS recreate it here'. 

'Doctor,' Donna said quietly. 

'Mmm?'.

'I'm sure you saved her more times than she could count too,' Donna rested a hand over his forearm and gave a gentle reassuring squeeze. She would be lying if she said she wasn't taken aback. He was the Doctor, the Oncoming Storm, he was over 900 years old and here was mourning the loss of a 20 something human woman. 

'Not when it counted,' he sighed. 

Donna knew not to push him any further than she already had. He wasn’t one to talk about his feelings, and she thought she had been lucky to even get this much conversation out of him. All she knew was that she was his best friend and she needed to help him. 

'Come on spaceman,' she said standing up holding out her hand for him to take. 'Bring that photo album, we can make some tea and you can tell me more about how brilliant Rose is'. 

The Doctor smiled up at Donna with thanks. He collected the photo albums and headed out through the door. Pausing he looked back in the room, closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. It still smelled of her, and though he’d never admit it out loud, that was why he still came here.


End file.
